WASHINGTON — As Congress wrestles over the House Republican health care bill, California Gov. Jerry Brown attacked the legislation, alleging that any lawmaker who supports the legislation will find “their name is going to be mud.”
“This bill is not health care reform, or repeal and replace — it's death, disease and suffering,” said Brown, a Democrat, in an exclusive interview airing this Sunday on NBC’s “Meet The Press.”
“It's a terrible thing. Now, yeah, it'll cost money, billions of dollars which we wouldn't have. Around the country, we're talking hundreds of billions. So it's a disaster. If it does happen to get out of the House, I would imagine the Senate is going to take a very hard look at it because anybody with their name on this bill. In most districts in America, their name is going to be mud. No question about it.”
“President Trump said everyone would have health care,” Brown continued.
On Thursday afternoon, leaders in the House abruptly postponed the vote on the American Health Care Act. A vote may take place Friday, but that is not certain.
Brown said he’s not prepared to ask California taxpayers to offset some of the health care gaps left if funding is taken away after new health insurance reform is passed.
“I'm certainly not prepared on this show to decide that,” he said. “And it's going to be very difficult to get additional tax money for that. We're looking for more money for roads and bridges. We have all this deferred maintenance. The people just voted to raise the income tax. They just voted to raise the cigarette tax. The idea that we're going to get more taxes would be a very tall mountain to climb.”
